Today was a very different view of health care in Panama for the group. On one hand we visited a public Psychiatric "hospital", and on the other we visited a private hospital affiliated with Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. The contrast between the two was pretty astonishing. Like many buildings in Panama we were lucky to find air conditioning in any of the four or five buildings at the psychiatric hospital, including the patients rooms.
The rooms included 35 male, and 20 female beds, separated of course. They had no ac, no pillows, no sheets to cover themselves with. Those buildings even equipped with multiple ceiling fans, were hotter than the asphalt in Clearwater beach on a day in August. Yes, THAT hot! On a positive note. They did however, include family therapy on a weekly basis. Which is much different in the US, where sadly many families are often not involved in the treatment process. The grounds were very beautiful and most of the patients were allowed full access and an open door policy, everywhere. Quite different from the States where everyone is always on lock down if they are admitted to a mental health facility. Also,the patient ratio for the nurses was an approximate 10:1, can our little minds fathom this number?
The private hospital was one of the fancier medical facilities that I've seen. It was very well "kept" and included some very detailed decorating. The (medical) floors were very comparable to those of the States, machines and all . (This was the first time I had actually seen an electronic machine, or a computer!) The private rooms on one of the med-surg. floors, and on the mother and baby floor rivaled any in the greater Tampa Bay area. The kicker is that the most expensive room there was a whopping $200.00 a night. And for mom? $30.00 per night and another $30 .00 for new baby. This private hospital accepts private insurance, but most often patients end up paying out of pocket. Heck, $200.00 doesn't even cover the ambulance ride to the hospital, crazy right?
Later on in the evening, after our tours of the hospitals we went to the Miraflores locks for dinner. The have a very nice restaurant on the second floor of the museum, right next to the canal. There were ships passing the entire time that we were eating dinner, and the food was great. The best part was that along with our 15 students and 2 teachers, we had both the Dean, and the assistant Dean of our very own USF College of Nursing at dinner with us. I was delighted to sit so close to them and be able to have excellent conversation throughout the evening. I graduate in Dec. and I doubt that I will be given such a great opportunity to sit with our Deans like that again! Thank you Dean Burns, and Dr. Cadena for such a lovely evening!
>Jessica Meerbott
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